John Lithgow is opening up about joining HBO’s “Harry Potter” series, saying that he “absolutely” did not anticipate the backlash he was met with.
The show has been steeped in controversy stemming from franchise creator J.K. Rowling’s past comments about the transgender community. In an interview with The Times of London, Lithgow said he accepted the role of Albus Dumbledore with his age in mind.
“Of course, it was a big decision because it’s probably the last major role I’ll play,” Lithgow said. “It’s an eight-year commitment so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role.”
Lithgow said that after picking up the role, he received an open letter titled “An Open Letter to John Lithgow: Please Walk Away from Harry Potter” from a close friend who is the mother of a transgender child.
“That was the canary in the coal mine,” he said.
“I thought, Why is this a factor at all? I wonder how J.K. Rowling has absorbed it,” Lithgow said. “I suppose, at a certain point, I’ll meet her, and I’m curious to talk to her.”
Asked if the uproar has made him reconsider the role, Lithgow said, “Oh, heavens no.”
Rowling previously said she would rather go to jail than use a transgender person’s preferred pronouns. She first voiced her views on transgender women in December 2019 by supporting researcher Maya Forstater, who lost her job over tweets questioning gender self-identification policies.
The backlash was swift, with critics labeling her a “TERF.” In response, Rowling denied being transphobic and published an essay highlighting her concerns about trans activism, which drew criticism from “Harry Potter” stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who voiced their support for transgender individuals.
Shortly after HBO’s “Harry Potter” was unveiled, the network’s chief Casey Bloys said that Rowling was “very, very involved in the process selecting the writer and the director,” and her anti-trans stance hasn’t “affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff” for the series, according to Variety.
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